1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wash fountains and especially to an eye wash fountain for the purpose of flushing irritants and injurious matter from the eyes of workmen.
2. The Prior Art
Government and industry and increasingly aware of the need for protecting the health and safety of workers. For this reason, it is common to find eye wash fountains at industrial work stations, laboratories, and other locations where workers are exposed to gaseous fumes, liquids or solid materials which can irritate or injure eyes upon contact therewith. Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (O.S.H.A.) has made eye wash fountains mandatory for particular industrial work stations.
Generally, prior art devices have employed eye wash fountains providing sprays of water from regular plant plumbing connections. Since the use of emergency fountains is normally infrequent, a long period of non-use often results in scale and corrosion build-up in unused pipes which can increase injury if sprayed into the eyes. In addition, water in a plumbing system will often be at a different temperature than a room. Unusually cold or warm water can be uncomfortable or even injurious to the user of an eye wash fountain. A distinct disadvantage to these prior art devices is the added expense for installation of the special plumbing connections necessary for the operation of such units. The expense burden these prior art units incur makes compliance with the O.S.H.A. requirement especially troublesome and decreases the availability of eye wash fountains to other workers. Particular examples of eye wash fountains such as these appear in U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,315, which discloses nozzle means for preventing surging of water upon initial opening of a valve, U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,315, which discloses nozzle means for preventing surging of water upon initial opening of a valve, U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,876, which discloses an eye wash fountain having integral nozzles in a basin with valves located on opposite sides of the basin for activation by leaning thereon, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,660, which discloses an eye wash fountain having retractable cover members over nozzle outlets for protecting such outlets from air-borne foreign matter.
An improved form of wash fountain is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,798. There is described an eye wash fountain which is independent of any plumbing connections. The fountain has its liquid reservoir within a hollow portable housing and a pair of generally opposed spray nozzles fixed in a lower portion of the housing in communication with the reservoir. The nozzles are blocked while awaiting use, by caps overlying each of the nozzles and joined together by a pull strap. By grabbing the strap and yanking it outwardly, the worker can release the caps from the nozzles and permit a gravity-induced spray of washing liquid. In this manner, an eye wash fountain was presented which was economical and portable and able to deliver a room temperature wash in comparison to uncomfortable cold water washes provided from plumbed wash fountains. However, this form of wash fountain requires the retention of liquid in the fountain after use. A further disadvantage arises in the troublesome form of pour refilling required for this type of wash fountain.
The present invention provides improvements over my fountain system set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,798, while, at the same time, continuing to offer a room temperature flush from an economical and portable wash fountain system in contrast to other prior art devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a wash fountain, particularly useful as an emergency eye wash fountain, is made portable and formed of lightweight material, preferably molded plastic. The fountain generally comprises an L-shaped basin housing, a separate bottle or supply means containing a flush liquid such as water, and a tray-like member. The basin housing is cut-away at the upper end of its vertical or upstanding portion forming a open top. The interior of the basin housing is generally hollow, but formed with channel flow means extending from the vertical portion into bifurcated passages, arranged along the horizontal or base portion of the housing and leading to spaced-apart spray nozzles located near the leading edge of the base. The inlet to the channel means is positioned recessed within the open top. The tray member, preferably cut from the original basin housing mold to economize manufacture, is configured to fit within the recess, where cooperating ridge and recess means substantially lock the tray in the basin housing. The tray member is formed with a generally funnel-shaped spout opening along its bottom wall which extends downwardly into the channel means inlet when the tray is fitted in the recess and has an open volume enclosed by sidewalls with which to receive the bottle or supply means. The bottle contains a neck opening and a narrowed upper end formed by an annular ledge. When mounted in the recess, the bottle neck extends through the tray spout opening; and the bottle itself is supported by virtue of a generally tight fit with the tray sidewalls and the bottle ledge resting on the side edges of the open top. A liquid seal created by extension of the bottle neck into the flow channel inlet serves to retain liquid in the bottle means until the flushing operation is commenced.
Elastic caps, which may be joined together by a pull strap, seal the spray nozzles until flushing is necessary, whereupon the user yanks the strap and releases the caps. The nozzles are fitted in raised openings which are angularly directed or canted toward an imaginary apex, beneath which is defined a wash zone overlying the base portion of the housing.
The bottle neck opening is preferably sealed to prevent spillage with such seal means as a cloth, plastic, or paper seal. In these instances, the basin housing is fitted with a perforation element, having a planar surface portion adapted to extend over the channel inlet casing beneath the tray member. A central area of the perforation element directly over the flow inlet is recessed downwardly and carries upwardly standing seal perforation means spaced along the edges of an opening and extending into the spout opening so as to engage the bottle seal. The perforation means may comprise a positioner piece and two identical, substantially semi-circular members, each having a wall surface having a sharp upper edge and gradually ascending to a leading edge. The positioner piece is generally rectangular and extends upwardly at an acute angle over the perforator opening to a height just below the leading edges. The positioner piece may be struck from a continuous wall comprising the semi-circular wall members. In this manner, the wall surface members, beginning with the leading edge, pierce the bottle seal to form a generally semi-circular flap which the positioner piece maintains away from the bottle opening.